have signed a letter this week warning president obama not to make susan rice the next secretary of state, calling -- saying that she either willfully or incompetently misled the american public in the handling of the van ghazi matter. >> i would say that their understanding of the constitution and their role in conformations is illustrative of their overall general knowledge. i think this is a very difficult one for the president. he stood up for her in a press conference and said, might you have a problem is with me. he all but seemed to suggest that he would name her secretary of state. even if she is the best candidate, and there are many people would think she is not a, to take on that confirmation fight over the at the same time that you have all of these other things, from the fiscal clift to the middle east crisis, to take that on now is not the most responsible thing to do. >> is susan rice being scapegoats it? >> i did not take from the president's comments that he was necessarily going to nominate her. i did think he was saying to senator mccain and senator gramm, kemosab

, therefore, not in the much talked about talking points that susan rice and others refer to publicly where there was a lot more focus on the potential for a spontaneous demonstration, the video, that kind of thing. that the piece of this puzzle that was more clearly known by the intelligence community of the involvement of terror groups was classified. in part that could be argued as a protection required in order to try to pursue them, that kind of thing. that is new information today, and it helps to show us how there might have been two tracks happening all along. the public statements that were reflecting part of what they may have known. the real question is, if they knew it was terrorism all along, was there too much suggestion that a video or demonstrations may have been involved? that's what people see very differently often based on their political point of view. >> yes, and it is based on political point of view. the fact of the matter, the information that susan rice was provided and what she indicated on "meet the press" and other programs, that would have been a part of

, then, involves the potential nomination of susan rice, the u.n. amambassador, to replace hillary clinton at the state democratic. it's susan rice who a lot of republicans have decided lied to the public. they allege was executing some kind of intentional cover-up plot by the administration. i don't know how that would work or what the cover-up would be. be that as it may, that's what republicans are saying. you have john mccain and lindsey graham both saying if her nomination is put forward, they will filibuster it. are there any indications that that would become an official republican party position, because if the republicans unite, they would have the 40 votes to kill it by filibuster. >> there is a lot of opposition among republicans to a potential susan rice nomination. people are not actively talking about filibuster, although that's the obvious presumption if you talk about members trying to block something like this. in some was they are saying that she was schoezen bied white house to be the public face in the early days after the attack to talk about what happened. if

will get the history and truth from a half-baked hbo tv show. in which susan rice is the hero played by halle berry and it will make no sense. >> dana: what must it be like to be david petraeus tonight know leg has gone from a major hero in history. it doesn't take away from his accomplishments what he achieved and what happened with the extra marital affair. he goes to congress as a civilian, first time he has done that. he will tell them what he knows and i'm sure he will be truthful about it. what is that going to be like? it's closed door so we won't see him. >> andrea: he's a very how longest man -- honest man and so some are speculating that white house didn't want him to testify because he is a good man. the question remains, besides who pushed the video, why did general petraeus change his story? reports from the c.i.a. officer on the ground after the attack said it was a terrorist attack. when general petraeus briefed congress, he also mentioned the video story. why were they saying it was terrorism? why he didn't say that? the man who testified in his place today got

. ambassador susan rice. you were critical in tv appearances right after the attack on september 11th. let's listen to that. >> either ambassador rice was deliberately misleading the american people or she showed and demonstrated such a lack of knowledge and sophistication that she shouldn't hold that position anymore. >> now, during friday's hearing, david petraeus, and we'll get to other incidents -- other news with david petraeus later, but david petraeus basically said he knew it was a terrorist attack and that those points were taken out of susan rice's talking points. so do you -- do you feel differently about susan rice now? >> no, first of all, as far as general petraeus, what was clear was that the intelligence community had this right, and they put together talking points, and somewhere after it left the intelligence community, some way in the administration there was language taken out. susan rice, i would hope if she's going to go on national television, is going to rely on more than unclassified talking points. she has -- >> but if the information wasn't in the talking points, w

, there's a just breaking report out tonight u.n. ambassador susan rice has heavy jeismts in energy companies known for doing business with iran. and that is illegal. first up, breaking news on the fiscal cliff front tonight, president obama offered his opening bid in budget talks with republicans, and we have eamon javers with all the details. good even, eamon. >> house republican aides are saying this was a new offer from temperature think geithner on capitol hill for a long series of meegts. there were varying report of whether or not he had made a specific new offer. in fact harry reid told me that he hadn't made a specific new offer. that said, republican sources are laying out the offer they say they got from the white house today. take a look at some of the specifics. you'll see what's prompting the reaction earp just talking about. they say what the white house is offering is 1.6 trillion in tax increases up front, to continue the payroll tax credit or a similar policy, what they call a permanent increase in the debt limits, a one-years extension of extended jobless benefits

susan rice, the ambassador to the u.n., went too far for the president. he hit back during his press conference. let's listen. >> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. but for them to go after the u.n. ambassador who had nothing to do with benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received? and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. >> that's the slow burn for the president i'd say. this morning mccain had some strong words for his former opponent, the president. let's listen to mccain. >> i know people don't come to spontaneous demonstrations with rockets and mortars, and for the president of the united states for two weeks afterwards to deny that that was the case is either a cover-up or it is incompetence. >> one of mccain's main allies, lindsay graham of south carolina, also responded to the president. he said, quote, mr. president, don't think for one minute i'm going to hold you ultimately responsible for benghazi. i think you failed as commander in chief before, during, and

, it's personal. that public dispute between john mccain and president obama over susan rice. could it be mccain hasn't gotten over the 2008 election. we're sort of stacking up revenge here on the other side. i got nothing more to say about that. >>> plus spy fall, what we're learning about the affair that brought down the cia chief and perhaps derailed the promoths of the top general. besides complaining about how president obama won re-election by giving away gifts to minorities and young voters, wonder what mitt romney has been doing since the election? david letterman has an idea. >> today mitt romney drew a picture of the house of representatives chamber and gave a state of the union address in front of it. >> and the fourth new entitlement, obama care, we'd repeal that one. >> we have a few more of those sugar plums in the "sideshow." >>> plet me finish with a book about when we had a hero for a president. this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> time to bust another 2012 lest myth. the idea took hold that african-americans would not be as fired up to vote as they were four y

slammed the president and susan rice over her potential nomination that doesn't exist at this point for secretary of state. meanwhile, mccain is now being criticized for slamming ambassador rice but supporting secretary of state condoleezza rice, despite the intelligence failures under her watch. >> that was an entirely different situation. >> plus, smackdown from the right. governor bobby jindal leads the republican backlash against mitt romney's excuse for not winning. why romney's claim of the president's, quote, gifts to blacks, latinos, women and young voters, might be an official hat hash tag fail. >> i don't think that represents where we are as a party and going as a party. >> new comments from the rnc about why romney really lost. we have new information from their official report, and guess what it's missing? the word "gifts." join our conversation on twitter. you can find us @tamronhall a and @newsnation. ♪ i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less tha

, mark, about susan rice and his already -- i guess he's saying he would stand in the way of her being secretary of state. he was asked about condoleezza rice and supporting her during obvious controversial times. let's play that. >> you said opponents of condoleezza rice were expressing sour grapes after an election loss. why is this different? >> because every intelligence agency in the world, including the british, believe that iraq had weapons of mass destruction. that was an entirely different situation. four americans died that didn't have to die. >> so, mark, the double-standard at least as some alleged here, senator mccain does not see it. >> this goes to the whole point that this, tamron, is a lot more about personal than the professional. this goes back to a grudge, obvious obviously, that john mccain has had with president obama since the 2008 presidential election. you mentioned that clip of condoleezza rice. it's worth noting that not only were there wmd intelligence failures in the bush administration, but the intelligence failure to the memo president bush got on osama b

susan rice. >>> also, this morning, violence grows as israel and hamas look to be on the brink of war. we'll have the latest report on the ground. good morning from washington. it's thursday, november 15th 2012. this is "the daly rundown." i'm chuck todd. let's get first to my first reads. president obama wanted to spend his first post election press conference showing he was ready to reach across the aisle. instead, he found himself on the receiving end of criticisms from not one, but two former presidential rivals. the president himself was loose, confident and at times aggressive trying to show he's in charge of these budget investigations. also to appear magazine 1/2 muss. magnanimous. he pledged to sit down with his rival governor romney. >> there are certain aspects of governor romney's ideas that i think could be very helpful. >> while the president was paying mitt romney compliments, mitt romney was telling donors on a conference call a different story. blaming his defeat on a financial what he called them, gifts. what the president has given to supporter, including africa

. susan rice going to be secretary of state, that could be a very ugly confirmation hearing. and senator john kerry talked about as defense secretary, wolf? >> yeah, there's been reports that john kerry, who i always assumed wanted to be secretary of state could be the next secretary of defense leon panetta has made it clear he's ready to move on and go back to california after all these years in washington, former cia director, now the secretary of defense. i don't know how long that will last. but if kerry is nominated to be the secretary of defense, that does leave hillary clinton's job at the state department open. and susan rice was always -- at least i always believed she was the front-runner until those controversial comments she made about the benghazi killing of the u.s. ambassador and three other americans on those five sunday talk shows. and the republicans really have been going after her. and if the president stands firm and nominates her to be the next secretary of state, it will be a bruising confirmation hearing, there's no doubt about that. my p sense is, he prob

the deadly attack of a u.s. consulate in libya, including whether ambassador susan rice's so-called talking points were altared the weekend after she gave that announcem of the attack. >> she didn't know anything about the attack in benghazi and the most politically compliant person. i don't know what she knew, but i know that the story she told was misleading. >> the debate on the hill intensified by general david petraeus' testimony friday that they suspected terrorism from the very beginning. >> why do you tell the american public something that is different in meaning? it should be perhaps leave out the details or the sources and then -- >> well, again, though, the details here were al qaeda. >> before you get to the question of what susan rice should or shouldn't have said, i think that we need to know the answer of who changed the talking points and why. >> okay. so let's get to the bottom of this and say good morning to the political power panel. we have susan page, and msnbc analyst karen finney and also a columnist for "the hill" and also the campaign manager for rick sanit

candidate. the blame game surrounding u.n. ambassador susan rice with another u.n. ambassador bill richardson. the boys use capital one venture miles for their annual football trip. that's double miles you can actually use. tragically, their buddy got sacked by blackouts. but it's our tradition! that's roughing the card holder. but with the capital one venture card you get double miles you can actually use. [ cheering ] any flight, anytime. the scoreboard doesn't lie. what's in your wallet? hut! i have me on my fantasy team. what's in your wallet? hut! music is a universal language. but when i was in an accident... i was worried the health care system spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. information on my phone. connection to doctors who get where i'm from. and tools to estimate what my care may cost. so i never missed a beat. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. >>> the house intelligence committee holding its first formal inquiry into the benghazi attac

all, there is genuine indignation and umbrage that susan rice is being rhetorically bruted about here by john mccain and lindsey graham and other republicans who have come out harshly against her in that appearance she made on "meet the press" and elsewhere days after the september 11th attacks because she was by the cia's own admission relaying the information, the latest intelligence, as provided by the cia. many people obviously have problems with the way this went down, with the way information was disseminated, and that's still being hashed out and it will continue to be hashed out when we're likely to see the former director of cia, david petraeus, on the hill behind closed doors. whether or not they actually go through with the susan rice nomination to succeed hillary clinton, we don't know at this point. i certainly think that they would not shy away from the fight if they thought that susan rice was the best person for that nomination. >> did you not get the impression yesterday, mike, that that was the implication of the president's assertion that he really does want to

hypocrisy alert is coming. he wants an apology from susan rice. is he kidding? we're still waiting on yours. >>> plus, here comes their worst night mare. we'll tell you what senate republicans are secretly saying behind closed doors about elizabeth warren coming to washington. not exactly planning a welcome party. >>> and how about this picture all over the internet? we'll explain what it's all about. >>> in a conference call, he won because he gave big gifts to target ed voters but some believe he won because of the big gift he got from republicans. [ male announcer ] what are happy kids made of? bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm o

, susan rice, to secretary of state. it feels like on the domestic front we have a fiscal cliff and we're going to work things out, but there's still a lot of kind of opposition and you can hear in mccain's voice a dislike for where the president is heading. what does the republican party do now? cut deals? where do they go? we know where they went after 2008. they unified against obama. it worked for them in 2010. why did it not work in 2012? >> i think both sides will have to consolidate their bases. find out how much leeway each side has. and then they can come to the table and say, all right, can we raise rates or raise are revenue a little bit. can we cut -- how much can we cut entitlements? how much will the two sides be able to give and i think though you see in john boehner and in president obama two people who are willing to work together if they can get the wings, the fringe wings of either side to kind of get onboard and come together. >> you know, one thing i would note just as it relates -- first of all, susan rice hasn't been nominated for secretary of state. that said, if s

watered down the talking points susan rice ends up using because they didn't want to tip that he have terrorists that they were on this them. let me start with you, senator chamblis, you were in one of those hearings with david petraeus, did he say it and did you believe it. >> he did not say that in those words, chris and i did not interpret anything he said to be that. general petraeus, number one, is obviously a great man and great leader, both from a military standpoint and with, also, the role with the cia and what he did say is from day one we knew it was a terrorist attack. there was no question about it. you you don't bring automatic weapons and rpgs and mortars to a so-called demonstration. still, there are some questions that are yet to be answered about the planning of this. whether it was done over a period of time, or, whether it was truly a spontaneous reaction. there is no indication now that it was anything other than a planned attack. >> chris: do you have an understanding as to why the talking points changed over the course of that first week? the white house sa

. ambassador susan rice. and congressman allen west has defeated, but he won't quit. share your thoughts with us on facebook and twitter. using the hash tag ed show. we're coming right back. it has. ♪ make just one someone happy and when it's a toys for tots child, well, what could be more important? so this year, every hasbro toy donated to toys for tots will be powered by duracell. happy holidays. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere. or that printing in color had to cost a fortune. nobody said an all-in-one had to be bulky. or that you had to print from your desk. at least, nobody said it to us. introducing the business smart inkjet all-in-one series from brother. easy to use. it's the ultimate combination of speed, small size, and low-cost printing. >>> thanks for staying with us. hostess brands went to bankruptcy court today. the ceo wants to shut down operations and fire more than 18,000 workers. some people in the media broke the news with a few laughs. >> it is a sad, sad day for america. >> a final twinkie. i'm just going to save mine for 12 years when it will s

ambassador susan rice and comments she made just days after the deaths of four americans in benghazi. twaks you heard live from senator john mccain and lindsay graham on this show yesterday. >> for them to go after the u.n. ambassador who had nothing to do with benghazi, and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. >> and in a moment that felt much more 2008 than 2012, senator john mccain took to the senate floor telling the president that he's responsible for benghazi. the senator doubling down on the "today show" this morning. >> i'm not taking anybody on. we owe it to their families. we owe to its to other americans. for the president of the united states for two weeks to deny that that was the case is a coverup or incompetence. either one of the two. >> joining me now is capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. what are you hearing about the exact focus of the meeting? some are beginning certain briefings yesterday. >> well, thomas, there's an effort here to try to separate out what has been a complicat

clear that he has susan rice's back. that's his ambassador, the embattled u.s. ambassador to the united nations. initially she said that that september 11th attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi began as a spontaneous protest against an anti-islam film. well, now two top-ranking republicans are vowing to block her nomination if, in fact, she is picked to be the next secretary of state. that had the president very anger. here's what he said. >> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. >> white house correspondent dan lothian is in washington, d.c., this morning. let's start first, dan, before we get to the ambassador, the embattled ambassador, let's start with taxes. >> well, yes. you know, republicans pushing back on the president yesterday, because they don't want to see taxes raised, even on wealthy americans, because they believe that that will stifle economic growth and will hit those people who are the job creators. at the same time, there does appear to be this willingness to find areas of agreement, some compromise, an

: bill, does that mesh with what we've been told the cia had been telling susan rice? >> i think the real problem for general petraeus in this story is that it not only does not mesh with what the white house was saying, it doesn't mesh with what we're told general petraeus said in the immediate aftermath, where he is said to have talked about a spontaneous flash mob. >> to members of congress. >> to members of congress behind closed doors as well and this is the problem. it's not only that we know that that's not true now, it's that at the time there were a lot of other indications that indicate that was not true, denied by the libyan prime minister, the cia station chief called it an act of terror. we had the fbi and i believe the national center for counterterrorism also giving briefings. >> paul: that's right. >> saying this. why was general petraeus's testimony then so at odds with other parts of the community? >> but does this, would this give-- what does it mean for, say, susan rice and the administration then? is this, does this help them politically by shielding them or does

, namely susan rice's explanation when she came out talking about it. it seems like i thought the election was over, but it seems like politics are still fueling some of the back and forth between both sides. do you think we'll see this continue? >> on this issue, yes. i don't know necessarily -- yes, there's always politics in washington, but i think this is much sharper and more personal. when it comes to the fiscal cliff, everybody seems to be at least trying to move towards a compromise. there are still some big differences in approach. on benghazi it's gotten very personal with a number of leading republican senators like john mccain and lindsey graham saying they will vote to block the nomination of susan rice to be secretary of state if she is named to replace hillary clinton, talking about the need for watergate style committee and the president in his news conference firing back at them. this is vernal and i'm surprised just after -- very personal and i'm surprised just after an election how sharp and divisive it's been. >> we heard mitt romney talking about the reasons h

suggestions that his security team mishandled what happened in libya and defended ambassador susan rice. >> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. and i'm happy to have that discussion with them. but for them to go after the u.n. ambassador who had nothing to do with benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. >>. >> and the president drew a line on taxes saying revenue must come from people who make over $250,000. >> what have i'm not going to do is extend further a tax cut for folks who don't need it, which would cost close to a trillion dollars. >> i want to bring in a columnist for the "washington post." good morning. let's start with you. over the next two days, congress is holding those closed hearings on libya. we saw a very strong defense on susan rice. do you think number one, we'll learn something from the hearings. do you think we'll hear a nomination for susan rice? >> well, it's the nomination that certainly seem to be what obama

of ambassador susan rice and her role in the administration spin on the benghazi terror attacks and the president's reactions to those statements at his first news conference since being reelected. mr. obama, defending ms. rice, but his defense has actually added more to the controversy. senator graham reacted to the president by saying, mr. president, don't think for one minute i don't hold you responsible for benghazi, i think you failed as commander-in-chief before, during and after the attack. so much to get to first on this, jim, the showdown between the two senators, graham and mccain and the president. abc's terry moran called it an obama smackdown. "the washington post" john mccain's benghazi, and some say it's about mccain being bitter about losing to obama four years ago. >> i think five names and a conflagration, and number one petraeus and broadwell and number two, benghazi, benghazi, petraeus, broadwell, military ethics, mccain obama reduction, and fifth, the susan rice story, which life imitates art. if you go back and watch the movie advise and content shall the novel

. >> why would susan rice not get our vote? i don't trust her. >> defending susan rice. >> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. >> there are no barriers to sitting down and beginning to work through this process. >> as the fiscal cliff loans, is there a deal in the works? mitt romney explains why he lost. >> the president's campaign focused on certain members of his base coalition, give them extraordinary financial gifts from the government, and worked very aggressively to turn them out to vote. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> well, i just don't know where to begin this week. do we talk about republican charges of a cover-up with regard to the attack in benghazi? do we talk about sexual liaisons and e-mails? to talk about israel and gaza, the possibility of the fiscal cliff? let's start with the sex. [laughter] cia director resigns after the fbi uncovers e-mails showing that general david petraeus had an extramarital affair with his biographer, paula broadwell, a married mother of two.

let this happen again. >>>> why would susan rice not gt our vote? i don't trust her. defending susan rice. >> if senator mccain and senator want to go after somebody, they should go aft me. there are no barriers to dn and beginning to work through this process. >> as the fiscal cliff looms, is deal in the works? mitt romney explains why he .ost >> the president's campaign was certain membersrs of his collision, give them extraordinary financial gifts , and workovernment very aggressivelely to turn them vote.e. captioned by thehe national captioning institut --www.ncicicap.org-- >> i just don't ow where to begin this week. we talk about republicacan charges of a cover-up with regard to the fatatal attack in benghazi? do we talk about sexual liaison and national security? about israel dealza, possibility of a a the fiscal cliff? let's starwith the sex. [laughter] the d director of the cia resigs fbi uncovers e-mails revealing that general david extramaritalan with s biographer, broadwewell, a married moer of two. about unlimited access. general petraeus was set to testifabout the bengh

susan rice is concerned. >> i don't trust her. and the reason i don't trust her is because i think she knew better, and if she didn't know better, she shouldn't be the voice of america. >> key republican senators are trying to block susan race from becoming secretary of state. ms. rice is currently the permanent representative to the united nations for the u.s. she has not yet been officially nominated for the state department job to replace hillary clinton who intends to resign probably. rice is rumored to be underactive and positive consideration. but republicans and some democrats have been angry with ms. rice for saying that the attack in benghazi that left four americans dead was spontaneous and not preplanned. >> what our assessment is as of the present is, in fact, it began spontaneously in benghazi as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in cairo where, of course, as you know, there was a violent protest outside of our embassy, sparked by this hateful video. we do not have information at present that leads to us conclude that this was premeditated or preplan